Global RFID survey reveals that half of all projects are being abandoned as failures

About 50% of all radio frequency identification tagging pilot projects conducted worldwide have already been written off as failures and most of the rest have yielded indifferent results, according to analyst organisation Meta Group.

Despite being heavily promoted as the next big technology in supply chain and retail, investment in RFID will actually drop next year as companies pause to re-evaluate the true potential of the technology, the analyst firm said.

Retailers such as Tesco, Wal-Mart and Metro Group have been leading the charge on RFID, but many firms are hanging back and waiting for issues such as technology standards and the type of signals used to be resolved, Meta said.

Wal-Mart, which wants its top 100 suppliers to RFID tag all incoming goods by 2005, last month admitted that its first target - for suppliers of tightly controlled prescription drugs - had been missed.

Despite teething problems, the technology - which allows goods to be electronically tracked along the supply chain - still has promise in the long term, said Will Cappelli, an analyst at Meta.

"Although the current dampening of expectations surrounding RFID is a natural reaction to the almost hysterical enthusiasm that characterised discussions of this technology during the first half of 2003, organisations should still prepare for RFID's pervasiveness in the longer term," he said.

"By 2008, we anticipate that approximately 30% of manufactured capital goods will be RFID-enabled, with that percentage growing to 80% by 2013."

Separate research from the Yankee Group was equally confident about the long-term prospects for RFID, predicting that £2.35bn will be spent on the technology by 2008.

The analyst firm outlined an RFID roadmap for companies, beginning with cleaning and then synchronising the data.

Email Alerts

By submitting my Email address I confirm that I have read and accepted the Terms of Use and Declaration of Consent.

By submitting your personal information, you agree to receive emails regarding relevant products and special offers from TechTarget and its partners. You also agree that your personal information may be transferred and processed in the United States, and that you have read and agree to the Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy.

Google is the latest of the tech giants hiring Wall Street hotshots. The CIO lesson? Partner with your CFO if you want to get ahead. Also in Searchlight: Facebook turns Messenger into an ecosystem; Twitter faces a gender bias lawsuit.